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The 4 Most Common Mental Health Disorders In The UK [INFOGRAPHIC]

Mental health is still a huge, prevalent problem to the UK's wellbeing and recent budget cuts, along with a lack of available resources, have only worsened the situation.

Around 25% of people in the UK will experience some form of mental health disorder in any given year with depression affecting a massive 20% of our population.

Depression

Depression is by far the most common of the disorders with 1 in 5 people experiencing bouts each year. It can be manifested in short periods of minor upset or more prolonged, acute episodes and there are a multitude of possible catalysts.

Those who suffer from depression may lose interest with friends and family, feel hopeless or find difficulty concentrating. Although depression can be a normal aspect of life, for many it can be a destructive condition, with some even resorting to suicide.

The likelihood of developing the illness is increased if the individual has a family history of depression but it can also be caused by events such as losing a job, the end of a relationship, death of a loved one, substance abuse and loneliness.

Anxiety

Anxiety is another widespread disorder, affecting almost 5% of people in the UK. Whilst it’s perfectly normal to feel anxious about certain situations such as starting a new job or moving away from home, anxiety can affect people in more severe ways.

Feelings of anxiety cause the body to release hormones which can increase heart rate and instigate sweating. It can affect a person’s everyday life by lowering self esteem, avoiding social situations and prevent them from even leaving their own house.

Personality Disorder (PD)

There are ten types of personality disorders including schizoid and narcissistic with around 4% of the UK being affected by at least one of these. A person suffering from PD will experience feelings and emotions which are far different to those of their peers such as anxiety and paranoia.

As an example, people who have developed a Paranoid Personality Disorder will experience severe feelings of distrust to others, often even to close friends of family. They may assume people are constantly looking at or judging them and will constantly be hunting for validation of their fears.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a disorder which is triggered by a specific event and can entail symptoms such as anxiety, flashbacks of the event itself and hyperarousal (otherwise known as the fight or flight response).

The catalysts for this disorder are numerous: sexual abuse, road accidents, military combat, natural disasters and being held hostage are all examples of the how varied these can be. It is estimated that, of all people who have had a traumatic experience, around 1 in 3 will develop PTSD.

These are just a small selection of the mental health disorders which affect the lives of many people in the UK. Additionally, these are not entirely isolated and one person may suffer from multiple disorders at one time, often with one intensifying the other.

Encompass Dorset specialise in providing 24 hour support to individuals with mental health conditions with two purpose-built facilities and sensitive, considerate carers.